Swedish driving school, part one

I have to get a Swedish drivers license, and have a whole list of amusing aspects of this process!

(This is all in comparison with the American drivers license process)...

Classroom:

1. I am sitting most of the time with a bunch of 18 year olds, and amazingly the feeling of peer pressure and, "am I dressed ok/smell ok/act ok?" all comes back....

2. It is funny to see these teenage guys (quite a few of them) pull out their little can of chewing tobacco. Real attractive, guys.

3. I have a right to be shy in responding, because my responses come out sounding all grammatically incorrect. But these Swedish teenagers are SUPER shy to even say a peep. Was it like that in high school and I just forgot about it?

4. A fun quote from the teacher, "barn är som rådjur, de kommer i flock." (kids are like wild deer, they come together in flocks).

5. The teacher shows a slide of a boy and a girl, and asks us what the difference is in their driving. Girls say that guys are dangerous, guys say that girls are bad drivers. Teacher says, really, there isnt so much difference. He then goes on to show statistics of how boys are three times more likely to crash, etc. (really? there isnt so much difference?)

Swedish words can be long sometimes, but here is a little list of the super long ones I have come across in the driving book.... makes you want to learn Swedish, right?

1. kugghjulsprincipen

2. sannolikhetsinlärning

3. landvägskörning

4. parkeringsförbud

5. handlingsberedskap

6. bromsberedskap

7. hastighetsanpassning

8. avstandsbedömning

9. utryckningsfordon

10. framkomligheten

11. blixtlåsprincipen

12. tomgångskörning

13. korriktningsvisare

14. huvudledsfortsättning

15. gångfartsområde

16. sannolikhetsinlärning

17. koncentrationsförmågan

Rules:

1. Sometimes when you are parking, you are only allowed to park on odd numbered sides of the streets on even days, and vice versa. Imagine having to always have your calender out when parking!

2. Turning left is not your RIGHT as a driver. If it means that you will disturb the cars behind you, it is better to turn right and then turn around on a smaller street, and then drive through the crossing, instead of (oh no!) turning left.

3. Driving is not just about getting from point A to point B, but also doing it in the most environmentally friendly way. You can fail if you use too much gas or produce too many pollutions into the environment through your driving.

4. In America the school patrol people can stop traffic, but in Sweden their job is instead to stop the kids until traffic is clear.

5. At a four way stop sign, whoever comes first goes first; what happens if it has a long line of people from four directions waiting? In America, at a four way stop, it can move in a smoother manner, but then again i guess they dont have so many four way stops here.

6. You can get a ticket if you are caught out driving when you are "too tired." Imagine if we had that rule in America?

7. Watch out, there are around 50,000 wild animal related accidents here in little old Sweden every year. Those reindeers can be pretty fiesty.

Fun signs:

1. You THINK that this means something like, "botanical garden ahead," but it actually is the sign for most tourist roads. Girly and sweet, eh?

2. This is an utfart (exit sign)...and it is NOT where the farts come out, but it makes me smile every time.